Basic Dog Obedience Training
One standard of excellence, delivered 3 ways. Canine Academy believes that proper training of your dog requires a 90-day commitment and a partnership between the trainer and the dog owner. We’ve structured our programs so that we’re with you every step of the way, from the intensive first phase through the final repetitions with the e collar.
No matter which path you choose, Canine Academy guarantees that all of our graduates pass a rigorous progress test prior to graduation. We break each of our basic obedience training programs down into three phases.
Board & Train
First, your dog undergoes an intensive introduction to the obedience commands during a boarding stay at Canine Academy.
Then, you receive a hands-on lesson about how to continue the training into phase II, ensuring you are capable and comfortable to lead your dog forward.
When you go home, your trainer will give you a daily homework assignment. You’ll implement what you learned during Phase I.
After your first week at home, you and your trainer will meet at our facility, giving you an opportunity to touch up any areas that need attention.
Over the next 2 months, you’ll have 3 follow-up calls scheduled with your trainer. These calls are opportunity to check in and troubleshoot any problems.
Your place is always secure at one of our free group classes.
Once your dog has mastered commands with the collar, you will begin to practice the commands without use of the e collar. Your dog should successfully complete the command without the collar 80-90% of the time.
Then, you’ll graduate from daily use of the e collar, using it only in high adrenaline or risk situations, such as an off-leash walk.
Your place is always secure at one of our free group classes.
Hybrid Training
First, your dog undergoes an intensive introduction to the obedience commands during a boarding stay at Canine Academy, giving them a solid foundation in basic obedience and ready for fine-tuning over the next phase.
Then, you receive your first hands-on lesson about how to continue the training into phase II, ensuring you are capable and comfortable to lead your dog forward.
Once you go home, you’ll meet at our facility two more times for private lessons in the month that follows. These lessons focus on increasing the time under command and the level of distractions in the environment that the dog will succeed under.
Along the way, you implement what you are learning, helping your dog practice the commands with daily homework assignments.
Your place is always secure at one of our free group classes.
Once your dog has mastered commands with the collar, you will begin to practice the commands without use of the e collar.Your dog should successfully complete the command without the collar 80-90% of the time.
Then, you’ll graduate from daily use of the e collar, using it only in high adrenaline or risk situations, such as an off-leash walk.
Your place is always secure at one of our free group classes.
Not sure where to start with your dog's training?
Take the Canine Academy Behavioral Assessment
Public Access Dog Training
In addition to the commands learned in our basic obedience program, those dogs in the public access program learn a set of commands that help you have the dog of your dreams in public settings. Here’s how we break the program down into three distinct phases:
First, your dog undergoes an intensive introduction to the obedience and public places commands during a boarding stay at Canine Academy.
Then, you receive a hands-on lesson about how to continue the training into Phase II, ensuring you are capable and comfortable to lead your dog through phase II.
Daily, you’ll complete homework assignments. These help you implement what you learned during Phase I, and help your dog build muscle memory.
About 1 week after your go-home lesson, you’ll meet with your trainer at a public place to touch up any areas that need attention and practice public access commands.
During the next months, you and your trainer will have three 30-minute calls, providing you an opportunity to check in and troubleshoot any problems.
Your place is always secure at one of our free group classes.
Once your dog has mastered commands with the collar, you will begin to practice the commands without use of the e collar. Your dog should successfully complete the command without the collar 80-90% of the time.
Then, you’ll graduate from daily use of the e collar, using it only in high adrenaline or risk situations, such as an off-leash walk.
Your place is always secure at one of our free group classes.
Frequently Asked Questions
While it’s natural and expected for both dogs and their humans to miss each other while apart, sending your dog away for training can have some very positive benefits for you dog. The distance from your dog during their training can be a big boost to their confidence, which has shown to improve their socialization skills and could even help with dogs who exhibit separation anxiety.
It’s important that you find a dog trainer who offers the atmosphere and enrichment that makes your dog’s time away from home a positive experience with lasting benefits. Canine Academy’s lush 7-acre campus and Customer Commitment towards the health, safety and well-being of your dog can help you rest easy, knowing that while your dog is learning the basics of their training program they’re being spoiled around the clock by the most dedicated, dog-loving staff around.
How long it takes to train your dog depends on your dog, your trainer, and your goals. Many board and train programs can achieve impressive results in under a month. Canine Academy can teach you and your dog functional basic obedience with off leash control in as few as 8 days. In order to cram so much learning in so little time, it’s important that board and train providers also take excellent care of your dog’s wellbeing. Training is mentally exhausting for your dog, so it must also get plenty of play time, affection, and rest to learn. It’s also important to remember that there’s no such thing as a quick fix. Your board and train provider should be prepared to offer you extended support for at least 90 days after your dog’s training. Transitioning back into home life will come with new challenges and questions!
The number of training sessions a dog needs depends on your desired level of involvement as the dog owner, the dog’s temperament, and your training goals. Most dog owners hope to achieve basic obedience to enable them to communicate effectively with their dogs and stop unwanted behaviors. With as few as two in-person training sessions, board and train programs deliver impressive results. With a professional dog trainer, you can learn to be a confident dog handler in as few as six sessions. Hybrid programs offer the best of both worlds at a mid price point. New training takes more than a few weeks to set in for life, though! Make sure that your trainer has a plan to work with you so that your dog’s new skills become muscle memory.
Functional basic obedience with off-leash control relies on the dog’s mastery of a few commands. Sit, down, and place should include expectations of a “stay.” This allows the owner to be sure that their dog stays safe, even if there are distractions or dangers nearby. “Sit” and “down” are probably familiar, but the “place” command may be new. It tells a dog to stay within any raised boundary (like a bed or a tree stump) until released. Before you trust a dog off leash, they should also have very strong recall skills using the “come” command and should “heel” or “walk” at the owners side when appropriate. For off-leash control, all of these commands should also include expectations that the dog sits at the owners side when still. To prevent charging doors, dogs are often given an “inside/outside” command. To stop other unwanted behaviors, dogs should learn an “off” command paired with redirection. Finally, every good boy or girl should know how to celebrate with a “release” command.